Although I like to think that myself, I don't know how true it is. It's like Ohio fans and McCray, they were all convinced that the second Urban extended him an offer, he would be in Scarlet and Grey, but that seems very unlikely now.

I always got the impression that he wasn't going to hang around to be a backup plan with the offers he had. Could still have a chance to flip him if we need him I suppose but I think he wants to go where he feels really wanted.

I don't see the evidence of this. It seems just as likely that he wanted to grab a spot in a good program before it filled up, figuring that if the Michigan opportunity opens up, he'll cross that bridge later.

With him already saying that he'll take official visits, the Illinois staff might even be okay with that.

Or maybe, because of our great relationship with CT, our coaches have said he's a guy they want to wait on, and to accept a spot at Illinois as long as he's willing to keep visiting. Our coaches keep Wilcher happy by being completely transparent, letting Gibbs know that it might be a good idea to have a back up plan in mind, but that they'll still be evaluating him.

Point is, we have no more information about your guess than about mine, so it could be anything.

If you're Illinois, you secure yourself as his back-up. You get him on campus, introduce him to future teammates and other commits, hope he doesn't take visits, and if he does, hope he doesn't get offers.

You can either tell him to wait, and hope he picks you when Michigan doesn't offer, or take his commitment, and have him sewn up if Michigan doesn't offer.

..It puts you in a tricky position when someone else wants to commit. Do you save that spot for Gibbs, knowing he could up and leave you in a sticky situation? Or do you accept the commitment, knowing that there's a chance you might oversign if you do. Of course, this is all assuming a tight window (like a week until NSD), which may or may not happen, but still, it's a legitimate concern. There's a reason Michigan doesn't take kids who visit elsewhere.

That's a fair concern, but I think it's easy, as Michigan fans, to overlook how tough it is for other schools out there. I follow Pitt (which is just about impossible), Boston College and Baylor (which used to be saddest of all), and a lot of schools need to take their opportunities where they find them. If there's some flight risk involved, you just have to accept it to get a player you want.

When you're a second tier program, you have to take commitments knowing that if a bigger program comes along, you might lose some guys. There are some guys who commit to Illinois and pledge their undying love for the school, but I bet lots of Illinois recruits would reconsider if the big schools (Alabama, USC, etc.) come calling.

This is why it was important to offer York when we did. Aside from Treadwell, none of the other receivers seems likely to come, and if we had waited on York, there's a good chance that he would have grabbed a spot elsewhere.

Congrats to Mr. Gibbs. CT may be a pipeline for UM, but we can't have everyone from Cass. If he's happy with the Illini offer, but still wants to visit other schools, then that's between him and the staff at Illinois.

We almost got Frank the tank, but he was picked up by Illinois. Seemed like the coaches may have wanted him, but I am not sure. Seriously! I know all of you realize I am not picky, but this post is bad.